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Pre-announcement Seminar
Conservation and use of biodiversity in tropical forests.
Are we on the right track?
The United Nations have declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity. A good reason to dedicate the fourth “Right track” seminar to biodiversity and tropical forests.
Tropical forests are one of richest but also most affected ecosystems of the World. hereas in some forest areas biodiversity is on its way to recovery, deforestation and forest degradation is still widespread. This is not only causing large-scale loss of biodiversity (habitats, species, genes), but also putting at stake essential forest
ecosystem functions and services, threatening the sustainability of local livelihoods, economic value chains and global environmental goods. Recent studies have clearly evidenced the socio-economic reasoning to invest in forest biodiversity, not only for future generations, but also for the people living today.
Restoring, maintaining and sustainably using ecosystem functions and services in human-influenced forest landscapes is a key conservation and development issue. But, do we have the effective (inter)national policies in place? Are the measures now taken appropriate and clever? How do we deal with specificity of situations? Has certification of products and uses of tropical forest fulfilled the promises, and especially, what should be done where and when this is not the case? Who should take what role?
These questions will be at the core of the presentations and discussions at the seminar.
Our aims are to share recent scientific insights into the status of forest biodiversity, integrated forms of sustainable biodiversity use and management, certification systems and biodiversity policies. Key scientists will give talks, followed by an interactive panel discussion on the way forward in policy and practice.
Programme:
- 12.00 Registration and coffee.
- 13.15 Welcome & Introduction by Chair, Prof René Boot (Tropenbos International & Utrecht University).
- 13.30 Biodiversity in tropical forests: status & threats – Prof William Laurance (Utrecht University & James Cook University, Australia).
- 13.50 Functions of biodiversity for ecosystems and people – Dr Lourens Poorter (Wageningen University).
- 14.10 Are forest-related standards and certification schemes future proof for biodiversity? – Ir Erik Lammerts van Bueren (ISAFOR).
- 14.30 Coffee / tea break.
- 15.00 International biodiversity policy: what mix of governance tools? - Prof Bas Arts/ Dr Ingrid Visseren (Wageningen University).
- 15.20 Interactive panel discussion with representatives from the Task Force Biodiversity and Natural Resources, Netherlands Government, European Commission.
- 16.45 Drinks
This seminar is the fourth in a series of annual events on Sustainable forest management in the tropics. Are we on the right track?
It is jointly organized by Utrecht University (Prince Bernhard Chair), Wageningen University (Forest Ecology and Forest Management), Tropenbos International, Dutch Association of Tropical Forests (VTB) and the ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.
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